City Beer relocating to former Coachman space on Mission

The City Beer Store, located at 1168 Folsom St. in San Francisco, CA, has a large selection of bottled beers for sale.

The City Beer Store, located at 1168 Folsom St. in San Francisco, CA, has a large selection of bottled beers for sale.

Photo: Laura Morton, SFC

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The old Coachman space on Mission St. is turning into City Beer.

The old Coachman space on Mission St. is turning into City Beer.

Photo: Michael Short, The Chronicle

City Beer relocating to former Coachman space on Mission

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City Beer is on the move.

After 11 years on Folsom Street, City Beer owners Beth and Craig Wathen are packing up and heading to 1148 Mission St., where they’ll take over Charles Phan’s former Coachman space.

The owners haven’t set a closing date for their original location. But if all goes as planned, they’ll be up and running in the new Mission Street digs by Spring 2018. Or as Beth Wathen puts it, “in time to celebrate City Beer turning 12 years old.”

“Around our 10-year anniversary, our rent was raised and it just became a situation that wasn't sustainable for us. We were priced out, basically,” she told Inside Scoop.

But when one door closes…

“We needed the space. We were busting at the seams. So this whole situation turned out to be a good thing for us.”

So what does it mean for City Beer to take over a former restaurant space? Well, food is about get involved. Heavily. The way City Beer functions isn’t changing — bar and retail will still be there. The food aspect is just a welcome addition, Beth said.

Details are still being ironed out. They are meeting with food consultants and it’s too early to predict what route they’ll take.

“Doing a food restaurant with this wasn’t even on our radar,” Beth said. “We’re excited and just really energized right now.”